The stasis in the play is in New York’s East Side, which is a rather wealthy part of New York. It begins in the summer of 2011, and a married couple are featured in their home. They start the play by painting. Emily is painting her husband Amir after she saw a portrait of Juan de Pareja. They continue the scene by discussing their work after Amir receives a call. Amir’s nephew Abe also visits to talk about the case with the imam, who has been accused of gathering money to support terrorism. The scene ends a little after Abe leaves.
The intrusion is when Amir and Emily quarrel about religion and the imam. This brings in more tension and drama to keep the play rolling. This disrupts the continuity and relative calmness of the first scene by providing drama. It is in this moment where the audience can see the play crack to reveal the plot, so we can label this moment as the intrusion. It is the intrusion because it also hints towards what will happen to their relationship.
The unique factor is the fact that Amir seemed to support the imam. Though he did not directly support the imam, the media has made it seem like he did. Because of this stance, Amir and Emily got into a heated discussion, which built tension in the play. Had this never happened, perhaps they would have never gotten into an argument. This fact helps form the intrusion, which is why it is the unique factor.
The dramatic question is: will Amir and Emily be able to further their careers and maintain a healthy relationship?
Two kinds of exposition
Information known to one character: Amir’s real last name. Only Amir (and his family, obviously) know his real family name, which was originally Abdullah. He even had his social security number changed to hide the fact that he was once a Muslim. This drives the plot because it hints towards Amir’s results (since it most likely means they ran a background check on him).
Information known to most characters: The fact that Amir did not get the promotion. The fact that it was mostly unknown to Amir clearly shows that he did not get what he wanted. Once he discovers this information, it drives the plot because he gets furious and dramatic. He starts to lash out upon finding out, which leads to major plot points such as hitting his own wife.
The most theatrical moment in the play is when Amir beats Emily. This is the most intense part of the play because the audience can see how heated Amir has gotten. Once he releases his anger by physically abusing Emily. This marks the climax since it is a very serious and even shocking moment. This part of the play is the one with the most dramatic action since the audience can see how grave the situation has gotten.
Some of the themes include: family, career, Islamophobia, racial/religious tension, divorce, cheating/infidelity, abuse, and morality.
Amir wants to further his career, but some obstacles that stand in the way of his desire include himself, other people, and society. He ends up standing in the way of his desire because of who he is. He says things that can be interpreted incorrectly or taken the wrong way, which makes people distrust him. Also, he was originally Muslim, so people who are Islamophobic can distrust him automatically. This also signals the fact that society stands in the way of his desire. With the spread of Islamophobia, society is more likely to show him prejudice because of his origins and background. Society can be very close-minded and would not want him to get a promotion. Also, other people can get in his way. For example, Jory actually got the partnership, so he cannot get it since someone else has already been offered it.
Some possible images include:
The painting of Amir: this shows how he serves as Emily’s muse. It is a very personal painting, and Emily couldn’t even bring herself to throw it out after their divorce.
The fennel salad that Emily made: this is essentially an appetizer, which almost hints towards the conversation they all have during dinner. Their conversation starts off light, resembling an appetizer, but builds and grows tense as dinner progresses.
The empty apartment towards the end of the play: it represents the emptiness of Amir and Emily’s relationship after their divorce. This is a very heart wrenching background since it helps show how strained the relationship has become.
The title helps us understand the play because the word disgraced signifies when something has lost honor or disgrace. This is essentially what happens to Amir; though he was well-respected and has a good amount of power, he lost much of it after beating Emily and not getting the position he wanted. The title hints towards what happens to Amir at the end of the play.
In this play, family includes both blood and marriage. Though Amir and Abe are related through blood, they don’t seem to be too close. On the other hand, Amir and Emily are married and start with a strong relationship at the beginning of the play. This can be a little ironic because Amir and Abe end up getting closer towards the end of the play. Contrarily, Amir and Emily drift apart because of what happened between them. This shows that the idea of family can be rather flexible in this play.
- The stasis in the play is in New York’s East Side, which is a rather wealthy part of New York. It begins in the summer of 2011, and a married couple are featured in their home. They start the play by painting. Emily is painting her husband Amir after she saw a portrait of Juan de Pareja. They continue the scene by discussing their work after Amir receives a call. Amir’s nephew Abe also visits to talk about the case with the imam, who has been accused of gathering money to support terrorism. The scene ends a little after Abe leaves.
- The intrusion is when Amir and Emily quarrel about religion and the imam. This brings in more tension and drama to keep the play rolling. This disrupts the continuity and relative calmness of the first scene by providing drama. It is in this moment where the audience can see the play crack to reveal the plot, so we can label this moment as the intrusion. It is the intrusion because it also hints towards what will happen to their relationship.
- The unique factor is the fact that Amir seemed to support the imam. Though he did not directly support the imam, the media has made it seem like he did. Because of this stance, Amir and Emily got into a heated discussion, which built tension in the play. Had this never happened, perhaps they would have never gotten into an argument. This fact helps form the intrusion, which is why it is the unique factor.
- The dramatic question is: will Amir and Emily be able to further their careers and maintain a healthy relationship?
- Two kinds of exposition
- Information known to one character: Amir’s real last name. Only Amir (and his family, obviously) know his real family name, which was originally Abdullah. He even had his social security number changed to hide the fact that he was once a Muslim. This drives the plot because it hints towards Amir’s results (since it most likely means they ran a background check on him).
- Information known to most characters: The fact that Amir did not get the promotion. The fact that it was mostly unknown to Amir clearly shows that he did not get what he wanted. Once he discovers this information, it drives the plot because he gets furious and dramatic. He starts to lash out upon finding out, which leads to major plot points such as hitting his own wife.
- The most theatrical moment in the play is when Amir beats Emily. This is the most intense part of the play because the audience can see how heated Amir has gotten. Once he releases his anger by physically abusing Emily. This marks the climax since it is a very serious and even shocking moment. This part of the play is the one with the most dramatic action since the audience can see how grave the situation has gotten.
- Some of the themes include: family, career, Islamophobia, racial/religious tension, divorce, cheating/infidelity, abuse, and morality.
- Amir wants to further his career, but some obstacles that stand in the way of his desire include himself, other people, and society. He ends up standing in the way of his desire because of who he is. He says things that can be interpreted incorrectly or taken the wrong way, which makes people distrust him. Also, he was originally Muslim, so people who are Islamophobic can distrust him automatically. This also signals the fact that society stands in the way of his desire. With the spread of Islamophobia, society is more likely to show him prejudice because of his origins and background. Society can be very close-minded and would not want him to get a promotion. Also, other people can get in his way. For example, Jory actually got the partnership, so he cannot get it since someone else has already been offered it.
- Some possible images include:
- The painting of Amir: this shows how he serves as Emily’s muse. It is a very personal painting, and Emily couldn’t even bring herself to throw it out after their divorce.
- The fennel salad that Emily made: this is essentially an appetizer, which almost hints towards the conversation they all have during dinner. Their conversation starts off light, resembling an appetizer, but builds and grows tense as dinner progresses.
- The empty apartment towards the end of the play: it represents the emptiness of Amir and Emily’s relationship after their divorce. This is a very heart wrenching background since it helps show how strained the relationship has become.
The title helps us understand the play because the word disgraced signifies when something has lost honor or disgrace. This is essentially what happens to Amir; though he was well-respected and has a good amount of power, he lost much of it after beating Emily and not getting the position he wanted. The title hints towards what happens to Amir at the end of the play.